Thanks to its great success validated this Saturday against Brest (3-0), Olympique de Marseille temporarily climbed to the top of the Ligue 1 ranking. Roberto De Zerbi’s team is therefore celebrating and keeping pace on the French scene, but it is, however, more complicated on the Champions League side. Bixente Lizarazu gave his point of view on the subject.
The TF1 consultant spoke this Sunday on the set of
Téléfoot. And for him, the pace and sequence of matches that OM must manage is not easy. “I think there is a glass ceiling, but not only in Marseille. For all teams outside of PSG. You don’t measure the difficulty of playing both the championship and the Champions League. It’s a lot of energy, even if the squad is more qualitative. »
And the 1998 world champion explains the procedure to follow.
“You have to be able to sometimes win in the championship by playing at 80% and I have the impression that this OM team is at full strength all the time. » The Ciel et Blanc would therefore be in overdrive, which would explain the gaps on the European scene. But the demands of their trainer wouldn’t have anything to do with it either. “ (OM) needs to be on full blast all the time. De Zerbi’s method too, and as a result he exposes himself to its ups and downs. »
A very popular OM
For Bixente Lizarazu, the Italian tactician’s philosophy cannot be thrown away, especially considering last season.
“If they have ups and downs like last season to finally finish second in the championship, it’s not so bad. But you have to get used to that. And even De Zerbi after his match, he could not understand this drop in tension in his team. »
After four days of the Champions League, Marseille is in twenty-fifth place, just outside the qualifying places, with three points on the clock. All is not yet lost.
